May 16, 2008

Invitation to join in Wesley Mission’s 196th anniversary service

Members of the Uniting Church are being invited to join Wesley Mission staff, volunteers and supporters to celebrate Wesley Mission’s 196th anniversary at a special service at the Wesley Centre this Sunday, May 18 at 6 pm.

The Rev. Paul Swadling, General Secretary of the Synod of the New South Wales and the ACT, will lead prayers of adoration and confession while other prayers and Bible readings will be delivered by Wesley Mission General Managers Christine Morgan, Graham Harris and Andrew Watson, and Wesley Mission’s Honorary Treasurer, Dr. Jim Pendlebury OAM.

Contributions to the service will come from people from across the mission. A DVD featuring Freddie Dwyer (a resident of Edward Eagar Lodge), TouchLife (the recent fundraising event for Edward Eagar Lodge launched recently by the Prime Minister) and also a clip on Wesley Mission’s Chance to Shine winner, Jan Irvine.

“This will be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Wesley Mission’s word and deed ministry which has been the foundation of our work for almost 200 years,” said the Rev. Keith Garner, Superintendent of Wesley Mission, Sydney. “We look forward to members of the Uniting Church family sharing in this wonderful occasion.”

A special anniversary celebration cake will be cut at the end of the service by Mr Swadling and Ms Sadie King OAM — one of Wesley Mission’s longest serving members — in the Cottee Lounge on C2 level of the Wesley Centre.

The Sydney Street Choir will perform four songs during the service. Members of the Choir are homeless or disadvantaged men and women, some of whom attend Wesley Mission’s Edward Eagar Lodge at Surry Hills.

The anniversary service will be held in the Wesley Centre’s Wesley Theatre located on C2 Level, 220 Pitt Street, Sydney.

Mr Garner will preach on the topic “Which way for Wesley Mission?”

“Wesley Mission traces its roots to two distinct starting points,” said Mr Garner. “One takes us back 195 years to the origins of the Methodist community here in Sydney, Australia — to some of those original Methodists who gathered in 1812 to formulate a society of faith. 

“The other takes root in the formulation of the Sydney Central Mission in 1884, as the Methodist Church responded to the changing circumstances of a growing city and the need to organise the work in a much more focused way that related to the developing urban context.

“Wesley Mission has sought to ensure that the work of God continues amongst some of the most vulnerable of people. If there is a future for a Christian community in a city centre, it has to be in direct relationship to our capability to express in word and deed what Jesus Christ has done for us. On Sunday we have the opportunity to thank God for the blessings of the past and pray for our future ministry and service.”

In 2012 Wesley Mission will celebrate its 200th anniversary.